What if worship is more than something we do on Sunday morning? What if worship begins with simply noticing? This fall, we’re going to spend time looking at some of the most extraordinary things in the natural world and asking what they might teach us about faith, about life, and about ourselves.
From the vastness of the sky to the deep roots of a tree, from the remarkable journey of a bird to the ever-changing nature of water, we’ll explore the wonders that surround us every day. We’ll consider the quiet work of bees and pollinators, the light of distant stars, the rhythm of the tides, and finally, the remarkable gift of being human.
So, this fall, come wonder with us. Come look a little closer. Come see the ordinary world in a new way. And come discover that worship may be much bigger than what happens inside these walls.
Because perhaps we were made to notice.
We were made to wonder.
We were made to love.
We were made to worship.
Join us this fall on Sunday mornings at 10 AM for this eight-week journey through creation, faith, and the sacred gift of being alive.
Pathfinders is exploring the Koran this month, using the abridged version translated and presented by Thomas Cleary.
Please feel free to join us, even if you haven’t read the book. If you have the book, you may contact Marilyn Lutz at marilynlutz@verizon.net to find out which chapters to read for the next session.
Will be held in the CLS Barn parlor and also available via Zoom (link on website)
What does it mean to live a life of faith and spirituality in today’s world? And what happens when we gather with people who may answer that question very differently? Friends on the Journey is a monthly discussion group where we explore with people of wonderfully diverse religious, spiritual, and life experiences, We believe there is something to be learned from each perspective.
FOTJ meets monthly in the evening on the second Thursday of each month. We meet in person, with a Zoom option available for those who cannot join us! At our September meeting, we decided to explore the following topics:
October 8th: Spiritual Encounters with Death-an expansion of the September 6th Lunch and Learn.
November 12th: At this stage of Life, what good do I want to do in the world, my country, my community?
December 10th: The CLS Advent Meditations.
January 14th: Can blessings in adversity be found?
During Lent in February & March: There will be Soup dinner and discussions of a book (yet to be determined).
April 8th: Recovering Spirituality-what are the practices we could ?
May, Date TBD, photography display and discussion by Glen Blandy.
You don’t need to consider yourself “religious” or have all the answers to join us. Whether your faith is strong, your questions are many, or you’re simply curious about spirituality and what it means to live with purpose, you have a place at the table.
Come as you are. Bring your questions, your experiences, your curiosity...
and maybe even a willingness to see things from a different perspective.
Each year in the December issue of Light Matters, a calendar of members' favorite quotations for Advent is published. This provides an inspirational quote for each day of Advent and the days leading up to the New Year.
The quotes are short, pithy expressions to ponder during the full days of Advent. Members share poems, prayers, sayings, and readings that speak to their hearts. If during your readings this summer something makes you stop, think, or catch your breath, please share it! You never know how it will inspire someone else!
You can give it to Maureen McGovern after worship service any Sunday or send it to her in the email link below. New to CLS and don't know who Maureen is? Just ask the person greeting you at the door and they will point you in the right direction!
Sufficient Protein is an important part of all our diets. Keeping this in mind, we are trying to deliver more protein rich foods. For example, this month we delivered frozen chicken parts, cheese, eggs and peanut butter.
Household items are also needed. We are trying to include at least one household item, in addition to paper towels and toilet paper in each delivery.
To become more aware of what our families need, we distributed a check list survey listing foods and household products.
The people we deliver to have been asked to complete this survey marking what items they would like to see delivered, and we will work hard to
accommodate them.
If you haven’t joined us before, and are interested in helping, just show up!
We always welcome and need additional help…
A hearty thank you to all of our volunteers!
***************************************
Next Food Delivery - Friday, October 23rd
Thursday, October 22nd at 8:30 AM
Meet in the food pantry to load bags with non-perishables
Friday, October 23rdbetween 8:30 - 10:45 AM
Meet at the food pantry to unload CCFB food truck
Bag perishables
Deliver bags to families in pairs or small groups
***************************************
CURRENT NEEDS: We are down to our last roll of paper towels! If you are able to donate, you may place them in the large baskets on Sunday mornings, or have it shipped to the church at 1066 S. New Street, West Chester, PA 19382
Donations are greatly appreciated!
Are you available for 1-3 hours to assist spreading wood chips, cleaning up fallen branches, and tending to our flower beds? Please let us know! Special project this month will be setting up a stage in the barn loft for the teenagers.
The leaves and branches continue to fall from these seasonal storms! We could certainly use the extra hands to help keep our property beautiful.
For many years, the loft of our barn has quietly waited.
Long before the barn was completed in the late 1990s, that loft echoed with songs of worship and the voices of people gathering together. Now, after many years, we believe that space is being called back to life...but in a new way.
With the creative vision of Lena Shigeno and other local youth from Henderson High School, we are beginning the exciting work of transforming the loft into a welcoming gathering place where young people can experience community, creativity, and faith. Imagine a space filled with art that celebrates young artists, open mic nights where teenagers discover their voices, conversations about life and God, laughter, friendships, and memories that will shape a lifetime of faith.
This wasn't part of our 2026 budget because, quite honestly, we never imagined we would have this opportunity. What a wonderful "problem" to have!
Over the next month, our teenagers (and adults supporting this new ministry) will begin clearing the loft and preparing it to be designated for teenagers and no longer storage. The improvements we are planning to do are not structural, but practical steps to cover pipes and electrical lines in the loft, allowing the space to be used safely and comfortably throughout the year.
If you are in a position to make a gift beyond your annual pledge, we would be deeply grateful. Every dollar given to this special offering is a way of saying to our young people, "You belong here. This church believes in you, and we are making room for your future."
Buildings become sacred not because of the lumber that holds them together, but because of the lives that are transformed within their walls! Thank you for helping us prepare a place where faith can grow, friendships can flourish, and young people can discover that they are deeply loved by God and by this congregation.
An excerpt from Pastor Jill's sermon from September 13th
As I was thinking about this sermon series, and especially about beginning with the theme “Look Up”...I decided to try something on my drive to church each morning. You see, I drive through the WCU campus on my way here. I pass students walking from their dorms to class, or walking along that long sidewalk on New Street. And I started counting. How many students would I pass? And how many of them would be looking down at their phones?
The first day, it was early, so I only passed eight students. But seven of them were looking down, and the one who wasn’t had ear buds in! The next day, I passed seventeen students. Fifteen were looking down. And then, I'll admit, it became almost addictive. I started noticing it everywhere. In restaurants. At airports. Waiting in line. Walking down the street. Even in beautiful places where you would think we might naturally look around…like sitting along the shoreline of Lake Tahoe.
And the reality? It isn’t just the students. Soooooo many of us are looking down. And it made me wonder: How much are we missing because we are? Because when our eyes are always down, we can miss what is right in front of us…and sometimes, what is right above us.
And that brings us to our Scripture this morning, Psalm 19. The psalmist begins by inviting us to do something very simple: look up. “The heavens are telling the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the work of God’s hands. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge.” I love the way the psalmist describes creation: The heavens are telling. The sky is speaking. The night is declaring. And yet, if you think about it, none of them actually says a word.
The sky doesn't give us a sermon. The stars don't hand us a theological statement. A sunrise doesn't explain itself. And yet, when we stop long enough to look, something inside us begins to stir.Wonder. Gratitude. A sense that perhaps this life is more mysterious and beautiful than we sometimes remember.
That is where this fall's sermon series begins. With wonder. With the simple invitation to lift our eyes, pay attention, and notice what has been speaking to us all along. Over the coming weeks, we're going to look at some of the remarkable things in the natural world around us. The sky. Trees. Birds. Water. Bees and pollinators. Stars. The tides. And finally, ourselves. And every week we're going to ask a slightly different question: What can creation teach us about the way we are meant to live?
Because I think creation is constantly inviting us to pay attention. And perhaps that is one of the ways the sacred speaks to us. Which brings me to a word that we're going to spend some time thinking about throughout this series: worship.
Let us consider what happens when we stop thinking of worship as simply something we do for God: yes…We come to church. We sing. We pray. We listen to Scripture. We take communion. We give. And those things are important. But what if worship isn't primarily something we DO? What if worship is what happens when we become fully awake to the sacredness of the life we've been given?
I just spent some time in Northern California - visiting family and for my wedding anniversary - and I noticed the sky is much different up there than when I am in West Chester. My second night there, I was walking from one side of the family “camp” to the other because (being on east coast time) I was the only one ready to crash at 8 PM. It was so dark, I couldn’t see the path in front of me. And as I was trying to get my eyes to adjust to the dark, I instinctively looked up to see where the moon was hiding and… I stopped in my tracks. The stars were spectacular! I could see the milky way. It has been years since I have seen the sky so clean of any human light that I feel like I am able to touch them. Because I was alone, I had no one to remark about it to. So in that moment, standing there alone, I realized something. I didn't need to photograph it. I didn't need to post it. I didn't need to explain it to anyone. For just a few minutes, I simply stood there and looked up. And almost tripped because I began walking with my eyes still set on the sky above me!
Maybe that is part of what we have lost; not the ability to see beautiful things, but the ability to simply be present for them. To experience something without immediately capturing it, explaining it, sharing it, or moving on to the next thing. For those few minutes, I wasn't doing anything. I was just paying attention. And perhaps that is where worship begins.
Think about that for a moment. Worship might be standing outside and admiring the stars. Worship might be holding the hand of someone you love. Worship might be sitting quietly with your morning coffee and feeling grateful that you get another day. Worship might be choosing kindness when nobody is watching. Worship might be looking at another human being and remembering: This person is carrying a story I know nothing about.
Maybe worship is not just what happens when we lift our hands toward heaven. Maybe worship is what happens when we open our eyes to what is happening right here.
There's a line from the reflection that Meg Cowan French shared in her Prayers of the People a few weeks ago that inspired this series that I can't stop thinking about:
“We keep asking where God is while standing inside the answer.”
I think that's so much of what we do. We ask: Where is God? Where is God when life is painful? Where is God when we don't understand what is happening? And sometimes, when it feels like God is hiding, maybe we're just distracted. Maybe we're moving too quickly. Maybe we're looking so far away that we have stopped noticing what is right in front of us.
And if that is true, then worship changes. Worship becomes less about escaping the world and more about becoming fully present to it. It becomes less about looking for God somewhere far away and more about learning to recognize the holy in the life we are already living.
Worship means being awake to the possibility that the sacred is not confined to one building, one hour, one tradition, or one particular way of understanding God.
NOTE: You may call the office and leave a voice message anytime for Jill (ext 101) or Lisa (ext 102). If we are working from home, calls are forwarded to us.
CLS | 1066 South New Street | West Chester, PA 19382 US
